Well, it finally happened. I just got off the the phone with Project Management and in spite of me stating pretty clearly and more than once that my participation in this forum is done on a personal level, not in my official position at JPL I have been told to stop. I am truly sorry and pretty upset, but as I said at the beginning I love my job and intend to keep it. It has been fun while it lasted.

Paolo

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Disclaimer: all opinions, ideas and information included here are my own,and should not be intended to represent opinion or policy of my employer.

"Happy trails to you, until we meet again.Happy trails to you, keep smilin' until then.Who cares about the clouds when we're together?Just sing a song and bring the sunny weather.Happy trails to you, 'till we meet again.

Some trails are happy ones,Others are blue.It's the way you ride the trail that counts,Here's a happy one for you.

Happy trails to you, until we meet again.Happy trails to you, keep smilin' until then.Who cares about the clouds when we're together?Just sing a song and bring the sunny weather.

In retrospect, I guess I'd have to agree with mhoward that it was too good to last.

QUOTE (Beauford @ Oct 8 2008, 07:13 PM)

...silly but strangely apropos..."Happy trails to you, until we meet again...

(trailing quotation mark purposely omitted)

Beauford: I think you succinctly captured something strangely apropos about the situation in which we find ourselves. I also enjoyed the relevant Youtube videos. Thanks.

So, where does the discussion go from here? It seems that it would be appropriate to ask where this short-lived relationship went wrong. Clearly we have a number of contributing members here that are rather closely involved with space exploration missions from numerous countries and international collaborations all over the planet. Our most recent friend and partner may have pushed the envelope further than others. But where did he cross the line? Was it the frequency of postings, the request for active participation and suggestions, his public notoriety, or what?

Hey! I thought it was really getting fun. What went wrong in this game?

That's a real shame, Paolo. Very sad that you can't continue to play such an active part in the discussions here on UMSF, but I'm sure you'll be looking in on us often, and I'm also sure that many people here would like to thank you for allowing us to be a part of the MER adventure, indirectly, for a while. Even if the conversation has to stop now, I think you know that we'll all be walking alongside Oppy, and you, as the road to Endeavour opens up before us - whoever maps it out, and how.

First of all, thanks Paolo for the opportunity (no pun) given to this group to participate in the MER project.

> So, where does the discussion go from here?

Speaking of "drivability analysis", the topic (imo) is almost finished unless someone wants to try a new technic or improve its own one.Speaking of after "drivability analysis", well, we should go back to "back-seat driving mode".

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